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Original poster

Is this the one / to offer on house or not?

29 replies

PartyWallQ · 13/02/2022 19:46

To offer on house or not?

House ticks top 3 essentials, and several of the nice to haves. This general type of house comes up maybe every 3 to 4 weeks in target area and goes SSTC within a week.

Sticking point of the currently for sale house is that the garage is too narrow for modern cars, you'd not be able to get out of the car. Zero scope to widen garage. Garage advantages: saves scraping ice, security, frees-up driveway parking space.

So, how much do you use your garage for a car?

OP posts:
BasementIdeas · 13/02/2022 20:36

I literally don’t know anyone that actually keeps their car in the garage!

alwayswrighty · 13/02/2022 20:38

My husband and I will only put our car in the garage if we're going on holiday or if we've modified it and it needs to remain clean and dry.

Cluckingtell · 13/02/2022 20:39

Garage a non issue - it's a storage area for bikes and lawnmowers

LittleBearPad · 13/02/2022 20:42

Don’t even have a garage.

Convert it into more living space

winterowl · 13/02/2022 20:44

Have had a garage in our current and previous two houses (so since 2010). Never once used it to put a car in it.

FantasticFebruary · 13/02/2022 20:47

My 93 year old Aunt is the only person I know that routinely puts her car in her garage (& yes, she's still a good driver & slim!!)

No one else I know uses their garage for their car!

Except people that keep vintage cars and tend to have land & several outbuildings.

FantasticFebruary · 13/02/2022 20:49

But that doesn't really answer your question...

If houses come up every 3-4 weeks, how do they stack up against this one??

DramaAlpaca · 13/02/2022 20:50

We had a double garage in our old house and never put a car in. We don't have a garage at all in this house and we don't miss it.

Original poster
PartyWallQ · 13/02/2022 20:53

Good question "how do they stack up?"
50% have wider garages, just about wide enough enough to use for a car. Everything else, similar or need a bit more work.

OP posts:
Viviennemary · 13/02/2022 20:54

Nobody uses a garage but it still needs to be big enough to put acar in otherwise can it really be called a garage. It might not matter to you now but could be a problem when you come to sell.

Rainbowqueeen · 13/02/2022 20:55

In your shoes I’d wait for the next one with the garage. It sounds like it is important to you

Original poster
PartyWallQ · 13/02/2022 20:56

@Viviennemary

Nobody uses a garage but it still needs to be big enough to put acar in otherwise can it really be called a garage. It might not matter to you now but could be a problem when you come to sell.
Yes, this is one of the factors I am considering. Ease of resale is important.
OP posts:
Luckyelephant1 · 13/02/2022 20:56

Well, will you need to use the garage for a car? How many cars in your household and how many can fit on the driveway? If driveway can hold all cars then it's a non issue, just use the garage as storage/gym/eventual garage conversion.

stealthninjamum · 13/02/2022 21:00

I use my garage if I’m having people over and I want more space on the drive.

Whether I’d buy a house without a usable garage would depend on the size of the driveway and how easy it is to park on the street. I wouldn’t buy a house with only street parking if it was hard to park.

sunflowerdaisyrose · 13/02/2022 21:04

We have a driveway and on street parking. We have converted the garage as also too small for most modern cars.

FindmeuptheFarawaytree · 13/02/2022 21:08

I can't remember the exact measurements but there is a minimum size the building needs to be in order to officially be a garage - I know these are different in England/Wales so may also be elsewhere. May not matter in terms of daily usage but may affect the value and ought to be priced with that in mind.

ABCDEF1234 · 14/02/2022 14:48

I cannot imagine you will be limiting your resale if the garage doesn't fit a car. I do not know a single person who parks in the garage and as much as most people want a garage it's for bikes / storage, no one (that I know) would reject a house if it had off street parking and a garage in which a car did not fit. It may be different if you have no off street parking.

Leigh8721 · 14/02/2022 14:50

never heard anything so ridiculous

SatinHeart · 14/02/2022 15:06

A garage was on our 'must have' list for our last two house moves. Not to put the car in though! Our previous house we probably could have got the car into the garage but I don't think any of the car doors would have opened once you were in there. We never actually tried though.

Assuming enough driveway parking, I think most people use garages for storage these days, or maybe for workshop/home gym/motorbike storage.

RidingMyBike · 14/02/2022 15:29

We always kept our car in the garage at our old house! We had it extended to make that easier. Currently renting and having to use the garage to store furniture so the car is parked in front of it and I hate it. Having to scrape the ice off etc. I don't like it being obvious from outside whether we're at home or not.

We're trying to find somewhere to buy and a garage that's big enough for a car is on our list of essentials. There's very little coming on the market at the moment so I'm not sure if it would be an absolute deal-breaker but tiny garage was a big negative alongside other things of several of the houses we've viewed already.

Stephisaur · 14/02/2022 15:32

Haven't had a garage in almost 8 years. I do miss it, and it's one of our "must haves" for moving, but for the Christmas Decorations more than the car! Grin

I suppose it depends on how much other parking is available? Freeing up a space on a 2 car drive is more important than a 4 car drive, for example.

Shmithecat2 · 14/02/2022 15:33

I wouldn't consider a house without a garage - but I'd never park a car in one. They're such useful spaces though, for storage, utilities, gardening equipment etc.

hotmess19 · 14/02/2022 15:35

Have a double garage. Never use it for any of the cars, ironically I hire a garage to keep the vintage car in over winter.

Original poster
PartyWallQ · 14/02/2022 19:53

@Leigh8721

never heard anything so ridiculous
Unfortunately I don't understand your comment as I can't work out what it is in response to. I'd be happy to understand more.
OP posts:
Original poster
PartyWallQ · 14/02/2022 21:39

Thank you everyone for your ideas and thoughts. It's been very helpful and I have now made a decision.

OP posts: